California wine under threat from global warming

(UPI): Global warming could significantly affect California and other premium wine-growing regions of the United States in the next 30 years, researchers say. Scientists at Stanford University said that by 2040, the amount of land suitable for cultivating premium wine grapes in high-value areas of northern California could shrink by 50 percent because of global warming. However, they said, some cooler parts of Oregon and Washington state could see an increase in premium grape-growing acreage due to that same warming, a Stanford release reported Thursday.

"Our new study looks at climate change during the next 30 years — a time frame over which people are actually considering the costs and benefits of making decisions on the ground," said Noah Diffenbaugh, an assistant professor of environmental science.

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